Pioneer Kentucky
 "Daniel Boone Coming Through the Cumberland Gap" by George Caleb Bingham |
The Lincolns had come to Kentucky in the early 1780s from Virginia. Lincoln's grandfather, also named Abraham, settled in present eastern Jefferson County. Other Lincolns settled in the vicinity of Springfield, in present Washington County. Like so many of Kentucky's early settlers, the Lincolns were of English descent. Settlers of English, Scottish, Scotch-Irish, Irish, Welsh, and German descent were the primary ethnic groups migrating to Kentucky. There were also French settlers in lesser numbers. Lincoln's ancestor Samuel (1622-1690) immigrated to America in the mid-17th century, settling in Massachusetts. Samuel's grandson Mordecai Lincoln (1686-1736) moved from Massachusetts to New Jersey and then to Pennsylvania. His grandson was Abraham (1744-1786), grandfather of the President. By the mid-1760s that Abraham had moved from Pennsylvania to Virginia, settling first in Lunenburg County before moving farther west to Augusta and Rockbridge Counties. It was in Rockbridge County that Thomas Lincoln was born in 1780. Even before coming to Kentucky about 1782, it is clear that the Lincoln family embodied that pioneering and migratory spirit, never afraid to seek out new lands and homes in search of a better life.
 The 1797 Wilkinson map of the U. S. allows one to trace the migration routes of the Lincoln family from Massachusetts to Kentucky and eventually to Illinois. |
The Lincolns were no strangers to the frontier. Whether it was Massachusetts in 1650, Pennsylvania in 1740, or Virginia in 1770, they had often been part of that leading edge of settlement ever pushing westward. But the Kentucky of the 1780s to which the Lincolns moved was still in the midst of a war between pioneer and Native American. In May of 1786, while tending his fields, Abraham Lincoln was killed by Indians. His son Thomas (1780-1851), father of the future President, was six years old.
The Lincolns were no strangers to the frontier. Whether it was Massachusetts in 1650, Pennsylvania in 1740, or Virginia in 1770, they had often been part of that leading edge of settlement ever pushing westward. But the Kentucky of the 1780s to which the Lincolns moved was still in the midst of a war between pioneer and Native American. In May of 1786, while tending his fields, Abraham Lincoln was killed by Indians. His son Thomas (1780-1851), father of the future President, was six years old.
 Panel from Victor Nehlig's "Scenes from the Life of Daniel Boone." |
 Long Run Baptist Church cemetery in eastern Jefferson Co., Ky. The Lincoln farm was near this site and it is traditionally considered the burying place of President Lincoln's grandfather. |
The loss of a family member to Indian attack, accident, or illness was not unusual in pioneer Kentucky. Thousands of settlers died from these causes. The threat of Indian raids into Kentucky continued until the American victory at Fallen Timbers in 1794. Outbreaks of illness could decimate entire families and settlements. But births and the migration rate into Kentucky far out-paced the mortality rate.
| A rather sytlized frontier log cabin as depicted by touring Frenchman Victor Collot during his travels in the United States in the 1790s. |  |
The dawning of the 19th century saw a population of almost 224,000 in Kentucky. The state's population had more than tripled since the 1790 census. And, ten years later, the 1810 census recorded Kentucky's official population at 406,511. Settlers were moving into and also moving out of Kentucky at ever increasing rates. As Indian lands opened up to settlement to the north in Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois; to the south in Tennessee, Louisiana, Alabama, and Mississippi; and to the west in Missouri and Arkansas, people living in Kentucky often moved on in search of a better life. They might have been born and raised in Kentucky or have lived there for years. Others were simply passing through, maybe only staying a year or two before moving on. The Ohio River and the Cumberland Gap served as the major transportation routes into Kentucky. A variety of roads and rivers facilitated travel through the state.
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There were two major routes into pioneer Kentucky - the Cumberland Gap and the Ohio River. Countless settlers walked and rode horse and wagon into Kentucky through the Gap. Flatboats, also called Kentucky boats for their destination, were a major means of moving family and possessions - including livestock - downriver to the settlers' new western home.
For more information and images regarding pioneer Kentucky and the Ohio Valley go to The First American West website.
